The Social Primate Podcast

In this episode, Eddie Aguirre sits down with Leo Martinez of VC Defensa to talk community defense, what the work really looks like behind the scenes, and why joy might be the most important organizing tool you have. ----- 03:28 Intro and Credits 03:59 Run Ins With ICE 04:46 Building Rapid Response 07:08 Roots and Influences 09:45 Mobilizing Through Culture 13:28 Mamas Luchonas Strategy 14:52 Orga...

In this episode with Diana Morales, executive director of the SELA Arts Foundation, we get into what it actually takes to build cultural infrastructure in a region that's been overlooked by philanthropy and forced to create with nothing. We talk about South Gate cutting its Cultural Arts Division, the long road to getting the SELA Cultural Center built, and what it really means to make communi...

In this episode, Brenda Gonzalez of the Tamarindo Podcast joins for a conversation on navigating burnout, learning and unlearning through hundreds of conversations, and what it means to keep showing up during heavy and uncertain times. We get into the impact of recent revelations surrounding Cesar Chavez, what it means to hold multiple truths, and how communities begin to process harm while still...

In this episode of the Social Primate: Aida Ashouri, attorney and candidate for Los Angeles City Attorney, joins Eddie and special guest JT the LA Storyteller for a raw conversation about what it really takes to create change from the inside. From leading a walkout of 1,500 students at 17, to working legal aid, to running outside the two-party system. They get into the roots of community organizin...

How long have you been sitting on your story? In this episode, Eddie sits down with Natalie Garcia, a Chicana writer, storyteller, actress, and creator from the San Fernando Valley. Natalie stopped waiting for someone to hand her the mic and built her own stage instead. From a shy girl filling diaries with everything she wasn't allowed to say out loud, to putting the San Fernando Valley on scr...

In this episode of The Social Primate , Eddie Aguirre speaks with Peruvian activist and journalist Paolo about U.S. imperialism in Latin America, the criminalization of dissent, and the limits of protest as a strategy for real change. Drawing from firsthand experience in Peru, Paolo connects the 2022 coup against President Pedro Castillo to broader patterns of U.S.-backed lawfare, sanctions, and r...

In this episode of Social Primate , Eddie Aguirre sits down with documentary filmmaker Matthew Solomon to discuss his upcoming film, Seeds for Liberation, a documentary that centers on the Palestinian liberation movement and its connections to broader struggles against imperialism and state violence. The conversation explores how state power, policing, surveillance, and narrative control repeat th...

What does it mean to oppose federal enforcement from inside local government, where silence isn’t neutral but compliance? In this episode, Eddie Aguirre speaks with Bell Gardens City Council member Jorgel Chavez to explain why staying silent is not neutral but a form of compliance, and how local officials can push back by creating policy, demanding records, and forcing accountability into the open...

In this episode with journalist Izzy Ramirez , we discuss the realities and challenges of tracking ICE operations, the importance of community support, and the emotional toll of dealing with state-sponsored violence. This episode sheds light on the critical work being done to protect vulnerable communities and offers a glimpse into the efforts of those fighting on the front lines. *This episode wa...

What happens when survival turns into obedience? In this episode of The Social Primate, host Eddie Aguirre sits down with award-winning journalist Michelle Zacarías to break down how generations of Latinos were taught to find safety through assimilation and how that belief still shapes our politics, identity, and silence today. Michelle shares what she’s witnessed on the ground covering ICE raids,...

How do you hold power accountable when the rules are built to protect it? In this episode, investigative journalist Joey Scott joins Social Primate to talk about policing, surveillance, and state power in Los Angeles. From stockpiles of “less-lethal” weapons to escalating protest crackdowns, to surveillance tools and local agencies working alongside ICE. He also underscores the importance of commu...

What does it mean to be silenced without ever being convicted? In this episode we hear Jag Arreola’s story of repression after Operation Accountability . Though the felony charges against him collapsed in court, he was still punished: silenced by a gag order, erased from social media, and stripped of his livelihood. This conversation exposes how dissent in America is met with punishment first, jus...

What happens when journalism sells our stories instead of serving them? In this episode, journalist Amanda Del Cid Lugo from LA Public Press talks about how parachute reporting twists the truth and reduces real lives to quick headlines. We get into the cost of stories written to sell instead of serve, and what that does to the people at the center of them and how journalism can instead be rooted i...

What do you do when corporations and politicians treat your neighborhood as expendable? In this episode, Laura Cortez, organizer and co-director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ), discusses growing up in Southeast LA, where pollution was treated as “normal,” and realizing it was environmental racism by design. We dig into EYCEJ’s history and victories: from shutting down t...

What happens when helping your community puts you in the crosshairs of the federal government? In this episode, Marine veteran and organizer Alejandro Orellana shares how a morning at home turned into a federal raid — and what the fight that followed reveals about solidarity, risk, and why showing up for each other matters. Show Notes: 00:32 Alejandro Rena's Arrest and Charges 01:51 Events Leading...

What does “back to school” look like when your community is bracing for ICE raids? In this episode, educator and organizer Lupe Carrasco Cardona joins us to talk about protecting students through Know Your Rights workshops, walking school buses, and community safety plans. We also explore her 2022 lawsuit over teaching ethnic studies (dismissed in 2024) and how that fight connects to resisting the...

What do you do when ICE shows up? In this episode, Eddie Aguirre sits down with Sandra De Anda, a writer, organizer, and Director of Policy and Legal Strategy at the OC Rapid Response Network to talk real-time resistance in Orange County. From court patrols to community alerts, Sandra breaks down how people are showing up to watch ICE, protect their neighbors, and turn fear into action. This isn’t...

What role should local leaders play when federal agents target your community? In this urgent conversation, Eddie and Santa Ana Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez speak from the frontlines of back-to-back ICE raids in Southern California. Together, they unpack how local governments can either protect or abandon their people — and why understanding your city’s power matters more than ever. Hernandez...

What if parenting wasn’t about control—but liberation? Educators and organizers Fernando Deveras and Leslie Priscilla join Eddie to break down what it means to raise conscious kids in a system built on control. From intergenerational trauma to decolonized parenting, this episode explores how healing, identity, and resistance shape the next generation. Show Notes: 00:38 Discovering Latinx Parenting...

Masked agents. Unmarked vans. Tear gas on neighborhood streets. In this episode of The Social Primate , Eddie is joined by Albert Corado—organizer, activist, and co-founder of People’s City Council—to unpack the current wave of ICE raids, escalating police presence, and what it means for communities across Los Angeles. From Bell to Paramount, from storytelling to survival, this conversation asks t...

In this powerful episode of The Social Primate , host Eddie Aguirre is joined by Alejandra Martinez to explore what it means to reclaim the story of Southeast LA—on our own terms. As ICE raids tear through our neighborhoods and outside narratives try to define who we are, this episode pushes back. It centers real voices, real memories, and the everyday beauty of communities fighting to stay whole....

What happens when the last open green space in your neighborhood is on the verge of being taken away? In this episode, Fernanda Sanchez returns to discuss the fight to preserve Flat Top Hill in Los Angeles. We dive into its cultural and historical significance, the community’s resistance to development, and the broader struggles against gentrification, environmental erasure, and the ongoing fight...

In this episode of the podcast I am joined by Christian Vazquez, founder of SELA Bicycle Center, joins us to unpack how generations of neglect in the Gateway Cities have shaped the way Southeast LA moves—or doesn’t. We talk about building bike culture where infrastructure rarely reaches, and why the upcoming Open Streets event in Bell, CA are more than events—they’re a statement. From the River to...

In this episode of Social Primate, I sit down with the dynamic duo behind Locatora Radio, Mala Muñoz & Diosa Femme , to discuss their decade-long podcasting journey. They delve into the origins of their show, the impact of the political climate on their content, and the evolution from indie podcasting to joining the iHeartRadio network. The conversation touches on the importance of community s...

Community radio isn’t just soundwaves—it’s power, storytelling, and reclaiming narratives . I sit down with Valley Views founder Hector Roman-Perez and youth interns to explore how local media uplifts overlooked communities. We dive into the show's roots, its mission to highlight real stories, and how handing young people the mic is shaping future leaders. The interns share how the platform has bu...